This morning we're back in Ezekiel chapter 34, these great restoration chapters in the discourse that God gave to the man Ezekiel. And while we want to see the historical and prophetic significance of these passages of scripture, we also want to take note of the practical message that we can find in it for today. For, you know, the Old Testament is just as practical for today as the New Testament in many, many places and in many, many aspects. Now in chapter 34, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel and he said, Son of man, I want you to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Who are the shepherds of Israel? I believe there's no doubt as we study the context here that the shepherds of Israel were the kings of Judah that had turned their back on God and that had used their position as king to rule for self rather than for God. God's program beginning in the Garden of Eden had been a theocracy. And he had commissioned men from the very beginning to rule and reign over the world for the glory of God and for the name of God. This is the purest and greatest form of government that man could ever have. Would be to live under a total theocracy. But man has always rebelled against that. and has turned away from that thought. And so he has brought other types of governments into play, governments which, of course, have not been as satisfactory and which have not produced the utopia that he looks for. The shepherds, kings of Israel, were to be under shepherds to the great shepherd of Israel, who was Jehovah God himself. You remember in the 23rd Psalm that David said, Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. In the book of Isaiah, God refers to himself as the great shepherd king of Israel. And so these kings were to be under shepherds who were to rule and reign and lead the nation of Israel after the things of God so that the blessing of God might come upon them as a nation. Now when we turn to the New Testament, we find that Jesus Christ is revealed to us as the shepherd of the church of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews chapter 13, we find that the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to as the Great Shepherd of the Church. The Great Shepherd of the sheep of God's fold in the New Testament, which is His Church. We find in 1 Peter chapter 5 that the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to there as the Chief Shepherd. And as we look at it in its context, the fourth verse of that fifth chapter of 1 Peter, we will be looking at it later on. I'll ask you to open your Bibles there later on in our message this morning. There we will find that the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to the chief shepherd among the under shepherds that he has appointed. And just as God had shepherds appointed to rule and to lead his people Israel in the Old Testament, We find that the New Testament tells us that God has appointed certain men to lead his people and his church here in the New Testament time. It is very interesting that the word shepherd, which is translated shepherd in the New Testament, is translated shepherd in every instance save one. And that is when we find it in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 12. I would like you to turn there with me for a moment, if you would, at this time. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 12. Verse 11 is the one I wanted. Now when we find ourselves here in Ephesians 4, we find that the Holy Spirit of God is giving to the Church instruction concerning certain offices which He has provided for the Church, that it might be strong, that it might be built up, and that it might flourish. Last Sunday morning, we found that every believer has been called of God in chapter 33 to be a soul winner. And we find that you can become a soul winner when you have the ministry of the offices that God has provided for the church. He has provided apostles, and prophets, evangelists, and some pastors. But that word pastor is the same word that is translated shepherd everywhere else. It's the Greek word poimenai. And it means a shepherd. It is translated shepherd throughout the gospel. It is translated shepherd in reference to Jesus Christ, the chief shepherd. It is translated shepherd in Hebrews chapter 13 concerning Christ, the great shepherd. And so we find here that these ministries are given to the church that they might be perfected or completed so that every Christian might carry on the work of the ministry for the edification of the entire body of Christ. We find then that God gave to the Church, to aid them in this ministry, apostles and prophets. But we find that apostles and prophets are not in the Church today. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that when the full word of God came into effect, that the ministry of prophecy would be superseded. Prophecies, it says, shall cease when that which is complete is come. 1 Corinthians 13. We find that the ministry of apostle passed off the scene with the death of the last of the apostles, John, on the Isle of Patmos. We find that in the book of Acts, chapter 1, the qualifications of an apostle are given. And to be an apostle, you had to be one who was with Jesus from his baptism, through his death, his resurrection, and his ascension. I don't know anybody today who can meet those qualifications, do you? If he were here, he would have to be the 2,000-year-old man, and there aren't too many of those left. I haven't seen them. All right. But there's another reason why I believe that apostles and prophets are not found in the church today, and that is, look back at chapter 2 of Ephesians, verse 19. Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints into the household of God. And the church is now what? Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. And so he tells us here that the apostles and prophets were used for the foundation of the church. How many times do you build a foundation? You know, here at the Santa Rosa Bible Church, we're a do-it-yourself group, and we built this with volunteer labor, and we built the gym next door with volunteer labor. And I want to tell you, I didn't know anything about carpentry and building until we got started. And I didn't think we were ever going to get out of the ground. There's nothing more miserable than digging into the adobe dirt to build and to produce a strong, solid foundation. But there's one thing that's good about foundations, that when you're through, you're through. We may have to repair the roof. But there's very little likelihood that we'll ever have to repair the foundation. Thank God it's finished. It's finished. The day we put the last pour in, a great cheer went up from all of us who were there. Hooray! Now we can start building up. I'm so glad that when we got halfway up, we didn't have to stop and build another foundation. No, you only lay the foundation in the beginning. And then the rest of the building grows on that. God tells us here that the apostles and prophets were for the foundation of the church. And the evangelist and the pastor teachers are the ones that stay for the finishing of the superstructure. Now notice what he says there in Ephesians 4.11 again then. He said he gave evangelists. What is an evangelist? That is a man who is especially endowed with God with the ability to preach the gospel with conviction so that sinners will respond and find salvation and forgiveness of sins. It's a tremendous gift. And then along with that, he has given to some the ministry of shepherd teachers. Why not use the biblical word, the Greek word there, for what it really is? God has laid his hand upon some men to be shepherd teachers. Now what is a shepherd teacher? There is a school of thought today that teaches us that the ministry of a shepherd teacher should be a totally impersonal ministry. That the main job of a shepherd teacher is to teach the Word of God, to study in his study, and to come out of his cloistered office and stand in the pulpit and teach the Word of God and leave the pulpit and go into his study and have no other ministry. Let the elders and let the deacons and let everyone else carry on with the other ministries, but let the shepherd teacher just give himself totally to the teaching of the Word of God. The Bible says there's two parts to this office. It says he is to be a shepherd as well as a teacher. There is the other school of thought who says that the pastor should be primarily a shepherd. And many men mistakenly have neglected the study and have neglected the teaching of the Word of God to the detriment of their congregations. And they have engaged and their whole ministry is built around counseling and ministry to individual. And that is just as wrong as the former. As I study the Word of God, I find that God has called certain men to be shepherd teachers within his church. And this morning I want to examine with you what a shepherd teacher is according to the Word of God. I received something in the mail recently that came from the Free Church down in Fullerton, which is a large church pastored by Pastor Swindoll. They have about 4,000 members there. One of the former members of our church, a young man, is on the staff there, Gordon Kirk. And this came along to me, and it gives you an idea of what some people have of the ministry. And it says, Minister wanted a real challenge for the right man, opportunity to become better acquainted with people, limitless benefits, Applicant must offer experience and know-how as office manager, educator, artist, theologian, circus clown, audio engineer, politician, salesman, diplomat, writer, missionary, traffic cop, psychologist, funeral director, wedding consultant, master of ceremonies, athlete, and teenage specialist. He must know all about problems of birth, schooling, marriage, children, diets, and death. He should be conversant with the latest theories and practices in economics, nuclear science, nutrition, pediatrics, space exploration, linguistics, and women's lib. The right man will hold firm views on every subject, but is careful not to upset people who disagree. He must smile habitually, sing softly. He must be forthright, but flexible. He must return backbiting with gossip, with Christian love and instant forgiveness. He should have a friendly disposition 24 hours a day, must be a captivating speaker, an intent listener, and will pretend he enjoys hearing women talk. Education, preferably beyond PhD requirements, but always concealed in homespun modesty and folksy talk. Able to sound learned, however, familiar with literature read by congregational members. Will spend at least 30 hours every week in the study, but always remain available for interruptions. Must certainly be up to current events, novels, arts, periodicals, reading at least a minimum of 15 hours every week in fields outside the ministry. His wife must be stunning and plain, smartly admired but conservative in appearance, gracious yet discerning, loving yet disciplined, efficient yet casual and available, thrilled to work in the church kitchen, teach Sunday school, and honey maybe babysit, and never become discouraged, never listen to gossip, yet fully aware of all church problems so that she might pray more intelligently. His children, they must be clean-cut All-American models, no long hair, beads, mustaches, bare feet, overalls, puka shell, Necklaces. Well behaved. Never sit in the back. Yet no different from other young people at church. Tanned and handsome, but seldom at the beach unless witnessing. Present and quiet at all church services. His car should not be new and shouldn't be old. Adequate but not stylish. Not a camper or sports car. Not a convertible. Motorcycle not permitted. Home near church always available for gatherings, neither large or small, lest others feel uneasy. Swimming pool questionable, since family must appear humble, slightly strained, decent, and non-offensive. Directly responsible for the views and conduct of all church members and visitors. Impervious to criticism, yet teachable and transparent. Visionary, yet budget-minded. Creative, yet traditional. Defender of the faith, yet pleasant and positive. All replies kept confidential. Anyone applying must undergo a full battery of exams to determine sanity. I thought you might enjoy that. Those are different views of the ministry. Now what does God say it is? Ah, perhaps there's a young boy in the meeting this morning, and God is going to put his hand on your life, young man, and he's going to call you one day to the ministry. I see some boys here in the sixth grade, some boys in junior high, some boys in high school. What a thrill it would be this morning if God one day, what a thrill it would be if one day, ten years from now, that we could see one of these young men right here, out in the ministry, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. May I say to you that I believe that one of the greatest and highest callings that God can give to anyone's life is to call him to be a shepherd teacher. And that's exactly what he is to be if God puts his hand on him for this responsibility. He is to have a shepherd's heart toward the people to whom he ministers. And he is to be a firm teacher of the word of God. Let's turn back to the book of Ezekiel chapter 34 and see what God said was the responsibility of these teachers to the nation of Israel. First of all, he says to these shepherds, he said, why is it that you feed yourselves? Should not the shepherds feed the flock? And so the first thing we see is this, that it is a responsibility of the shepherds, under shepherds, in the program of God, to feed the flock. to make sure that they have the food that is needed and the food that is necessary that will nourish them and that will build them up and will make them strong. We don't have to search far in the New Testament to find this same principle laid down for New Testament pastors and teachers. Notice if you will now in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 1. The elders who are among you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight of it, not by constraint, not willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. The ministry is not a profession that we invite you to enter into. You do not go into the ministry because it pays good and in order to become rich and wealthy and successful. Many men have falsely used religious quackery to gain untold wealth and riches for themselves. You cannot be blessed of God if you go into the ministry to become rich, if that is your goal. The Bible teaches that the minister is to be taken care of by the flock to whom he ministers. But young men, it is not a profession that you join because it seems like it's lucrative No, no, the ministry is something that God calls you into and places you into. And the first thing that you need to know is this, that God said as a minister, it is your responsibility to feed the flock of God. The same thing is given to us. You stay there and Peter, let me read to you now from Acts chapter 20, when Paul was writing to the Ephesian elders and leaders of that church. Notice what he said. Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock. over which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, or under shepherds, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." It is a responsibility of a pastor then to operate as a shepherd and to teach the Word of God to his flock. When Paul wrote to Timothy, the young pastor, in 2 Timothy chapter 4, he said, Timothy, I charge you in the face of God, preach the word. Teach the word, Timothy. Rebuke, rebuke, reprove, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. He said, Timothy, it is your job to teach and preach the Word of God, for the Word of God is the thing that will build up spiritual strength in the lives of God's people. And the first responsibility that God lays upon us as shepherd teachers is our responsibility to preach and to teach the Word of God. And oh, we need to recognize that this morning. that this is the duty of every shepherd teacher. We live in a day today when it is easy to be sidetracked from this feeding ministry. But you know, it's not enough for the pastor to provide the place to eat. The church has to come and sit down at the table and eat. Isn't that right? You know, my wife can put a beautiful meal on the table. But if I don't come and sit down and eat it, I'm not going to grow. My appetite isn't going to be satisfied. We'll talk about that a little bit later on in our message this morning. Notice what he says here in 1 Peter. I'm going back to that now. Feed the flock of God, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. But he said, now wait a minute. I've called you to be a shepherd, but he said a shepherd is not a dictator. A shepherd is not a commander. He said a shepherd is a leader. Can you imagine a New Testament Bible land shepherd sitting down in his office in the morning at the sheep fold and saying to the lead sheep, well, go on, take them out today and find something good. And I'll be here at the office preparing something nice to say to you when you get back. Oh, no. He wasn't commanding. But what was he doing? When you saw that Bible land shepherd going along, you found that he came to the door of the sheep fold and we find that it was a custom for all of the shepherds to bring their sheep into the same fold. And then in the morning the shepherd would come, and he would call for his sheep by name, whatever their names might be. Moses, Elijah, I don't know what names they used for their sheep, but they probably named them after names that were familiar with them. Jacob, Abigail. And he'd call their names, the Bible says. Jesus said, my sheep, hear my voice, and I called them, and they'd hear me, and they'd follow me. and he would call them and then his sheep would leave the flock and one by one they would come to the door of the sheepfold and then the shepherd would walk along and the sheep would follow behind him. And that's what God says to the pastor here. He said, you are to be leaders not as dictators, not as commanders. But he said, you are to lead by example. The shepherd going before the flock and leading by a godly example. And the sheep following along and feeding in the Word of God. You cannot feed the flock if you do not study the Word for yourself. So the shepherd has to be in the Word of God so that when the people come together, he can open up the Word of God and he can feed them on this precious book. But he is to be a leader. I've heard people say, you know, there's something wrong with that church over there. The pastor tries to run everything. The pastor is not supposed to run everything. But dear friends, the pastor is to be a leader among the church and among the people. There's no doubt about it. Notice what it says in Hebrews chapter 13. Obey them that have the rule over you, for they have been made responsible for your souls. But he is to lead by example, not by commandment or edict. God has appointed no one as a lord over his heritage. The chief shepherd, he says in the next verse, is Jesus Christ. He is the one who gives the commands. He is the one who gives the orders. But the pastor is to be a shepherd leader to the flock. Let's go back to Ezekiel now. What's the next thing we want to notice here? Ezekiel 34, verse 4. the diseased, have ye not strengthened? And one of the ministries of a shepherd was to minister to the sheep that were sick. And God says it is part of the ministry of the shepherd pastor to minister to those that are sick. Sick with sin. You know, it isn't hard for a shepherd to spot a sick sheep. How does he spot that sick sheep? I'll tell you how he spots him. He leads his flock out and he finds a beautiful lush meadow and some water. And all of the sheep that are well and strong immediately begin to eat. But the sick one doesn't eat. He's off on the side. He isn't drinking. God tells us in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament, God said to these shepherd kings of Israel, you didn't pay attention to the sheep that were sick, the diseased ones, the backslider, and one who walked with God and who began to lose his appetite for the things of God. Listen to me, I've been a pastor for 22 years now and I've seen sheep that were once strong and healthy for God who become sick and anemic. and have almost died because of sin in their lives. It isn't hard to spot a sick sheep. Listen, when a Christian is right with God, when he's walking with the Lord, he loves to come to church, and he loves to feed on the word of God. He has an appetite for spiritual things, but the moment a Christian begins to backslide, his appetite begins to fail, and he begins to miss out, and you don't see him in the house of God. as you ought to see him. His interest in the things of God begins to wane and begins to falter. And it isn't long until he becomes involved in other things that take place over the things of God that ought to be in his life. It isn't hard to spot sick sheep. And God says that it's a ministry and responsibility of the shepherd to go to that ship who's diseased and seek to bind him up and to restore him to strength and health again. In Galatians chapter 6 it says, Brethren, if ye see a man overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one. In a spirit of meekness, considering thyself also, lest thou be tempted. That's just one place. There are many places in the Word of God where God instructs us to go out and minister to the Christian who has become sick and who needs to be brought back into strength and health again. And there is a tremendous need for shepherds who will deal with sheep that are sick. Now may I say the pastor is not the only one who is encouraged to do this. Not at all. The elders, the deacons, and every other Christian should be interested in healing the backsliders. But dear friends, God has not exempted the shepherd either. God says that's part of the ministry of the shepherd. To be concerned about the sheep that are sick. Someone said to me, well, you know, Pastor Graves, I think that we live in a day now when we need to have some pastors that are just teachers and they just spend all their time training the elders to do all of these things. And I point them to 1 Corinthians 11. And what I find in 2 Corinthians 11 is this, that the Apostle Paul, who was the overseer of many of the churches, yet the Apostle Paul had a personal ministry to everyone who had a need. The Apostle Paul said, who is sick? And I am not sick with him. Who is offended? And I am not offended. He said, who is weak? And I am not concerned about that person. He said, daily the care of all of the churches is upon me. Why did Paul say that? Because Paul had a shepherd's heart. With the responsibility of ministry to the overseers, Paul had an interest in the individual needs of the saints. And I thank God that he can give us a personal ministry. Let me say this. A sheep is not a ferocious animal. We think of it as a rather calm and placid thing. But I'll tell you, a sick animal doesn't always appreciate somebody coming and helping it. We have Dr. Fedders over here, who's a veterinarian. And I'm sure he would attest to the fact that a sick animal is one you want to give a wide berth to many times. And I'm here to tell you as a pastor this morning, that as a shepherd, sometimes it's very hard to go and minister to sick sheep. They don't like it. And oh, you need the grace of God so that you might be able to come to those people in love and minister to them. I've had some sheep bite back. I've gone to some sheep that are sick and said, listen, you know, brother, I've seen that there's some place in your life. You need to be revived. You're not standing where you once were. You don't have the appetite. You don't have the interest. You seem to be backsliding. And I've had some of them say to me, it's none of your business. If I want your help, I'll come and ask for it. I remember talking to a man one day, and that was his reply to me. And I told him the word of God. I said, I'd like you to read a verse here. I read in that passage in the book of Hebrews where it says, obey them that have the rule over you of leadership, where he speaks about the shepherd relationship of the pastor to the people. And I said, now notice, it says that they watch for your souls as they that must give an account to God. I read in that passage in Galatians where it says we have a responsibility to go out and try to restore someone who is obviously falling away from the things of the Lord. I said, now what would you do with somebody like you if you were me? He thought for a few minutes, and his eyes filled with tears. He said, Pastor, I do the same thing you're doing. He repented of his sin, and he came back. He got right with God. Praise God that the backslider can be restored. But we have to realize that part of the ministry of the shepherd teacher is to go out and, in a personal way, minister to the backslider. You see, the sick sheep need special attention. Did you know that? You can't handle a sick sheep from your office. Now it's true that when the church grows to a certain size that most of your time of personal ministry has to be spent with the sick and needy ones. That's true. Personal fellowship becomes more and more of a premium, doesn't it? And you can't become a shepherd in good times. You have to feed the whole flock together and then minister personally to the ones that have special needs. You know, I have a pastor's heart. When people aren't here, I always notice it. People say to me, how come you knew I wasn't here? I don't know. I'll tell you why I knew you weren't here. Because I have a shepherd's interest in the sheep that God has placed in this fold. I really mean that. Somebody said to me, oh, you go in the office and you look at the books. I don't have to look at the books. I know. I know. I don't think the secretaries have ever found me in there searching the books to see who isn't there. Why? When God gives you a shepherd's heart, he gives you the ability to know who's there and who isn't. Now listen, not only are you supposed to restore the backslider, but notice what else he said. He said, you haven't healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken. He said, as a shepherd teacher, he said, you have a responsibility. You haven't gone out and ministered to those whose hearts have been broken. The loved ones have died. People are sick and they need someone to come and sit down and pray with them and encourage them in the word of God. How tragic that there are pastors today who feel it is their responsibility to stay in a cloistered office and there are sheep in their congregation who are sick and who have lost loved ones whose hearts are broken and they don't go. I find in the New Testament that God speaking to the pastor said that the apostle Paul, as I said a few moments ago, had a heart that was moved with compassion. And I find that Jesus Christ, our blessed shepherd, he tells us there in the Gospels that he came to bind up that which was broken and to heal the brokenhearted. And 2 Corinthians chapter 1 tells me that our God is a God of comfort and that one of the ministries that he's called us to is to go out and comfort those whose hearts are bruised and broken. And when somebody's in the hospital, the shepherd, has a responsibility to go to that hospital room and to sit down and comfort that person with the word of God. When a loved one is in an operating room, one of the ministries of a shepherd, I believe, is to seek to be there and to sit with those loved ones and be there to hear the news that might be bad and to stand there in prayer and minister the comfort of the word of God. When a loved one is lost and hearts are crushed, a true shepherd of God will find his way to that home. He'll go into that home and he'll weep with those people and he'll share the comfort of the Word of God. God has called men to be shepherd teachers. We need to have the balance. The personal and the public ministry are both in the book. And along with that, he said to these shepherds, you haven't gone to the brokenhearted. You haven't sought to restore the backslider. But he said, you haven't sought to evangelize and bring the lost to repentance. Notice what he says. You haven't brought again that which was driven away. You haven't sought that which was lost. When Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 verse 5, he said, Timothy, not only do I want you to preach the word, but he said, Timothy, I want you to do the work of an evangelist. He said, Timothy, I want you to preach the word of God and seek to bring souls to Jesus Christ. You know, I had a man say to me not long ago, he said, you know, Pastor, I don't believe in invitations in church. I don't believe that a pastor should ever preach the gospel. I believe that all a pastor should do is teach the word of God. I said, Brother, read 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 5. It says the pastor is to teach the word of God. And it also says the pastor is to do the work of an evangelist. Every believer is to evangelize, but the pastor is to do it too. And you know, it's a thrill to me when I look out over our congregation at this service as well as the first service to see that there are many people here this morning who have come to know Jesus Christ in our preaching services. A true shepherd of God is an evangelist as well as a teacher of the Word of God. What is the result of an unfaithful shepherd? What happens when a shepherd teacher doesn't fulfill the entire ministry that God is calling to fulfill? I'll tell you what happens. It isn't long until the sheep were scattered. Verse 5, the sheep were scattered because there was no shepherd. They became the food to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. And my sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill. Yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. And you know, when a man will not be a true shepherd, pastor, it isn't going to be too long until the church begins to disintegrate and the sheep begin to be scattered. In 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 4, when Paul spoke to Timothy, he said, Timothy, you preach the word. He said, you do the work of an evangelist. You teach doctrine, Timothy. Why? Because, he said, if you don't, they will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. And he said, it won't be long until the sheep will be scattered everywhere. and the church would be lost. I don't have time to read it with you this morning, but if you want to read further on this and the result of pastors who don't fulfill the ministry of shepherd teacher, then read 2 Peter 2. And there you will find the tragic results that will come when a man takes the job of shepherd teacher but doesn't fulfill the office. The result is always this, that the church suffers, and it suffers tremendously. What is the future of faithless shepherd teachers? One day they will stand before Almighty God, and they will receive His judgment. Notice what it says in verse 10. Thus saith the Lord God, I am against you shepherds, and I will require my flock at their hand. And then as you read the rest of the chapter, what God says when he said, I have good news for you, for them, Ezekiel, tell them this. He said, even though these shepherds have been unfaithful, he said, one of these days, he said, I'm going to send my shepherd, my king, my son. And when he comes, he will gather them back. And he will be the perfect shepherd to my people. Turn with me once more as we close our sermon to 1 Peter 5. And here in this passage of scripture, once more, we find that God says that the true shepherd teacher is to feed the flock. taking oversight of it, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy luger, but of a ready mind, not as being lord over God's heritage, but by being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd, the same word, except it has the word arche in front of it, when the arche poimene, When the chief shepherd, Jesus Christ, shall appear, he said, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. There is a reward for shepherd teachers, a special reward that God will give to those who have faithfully executed that office. I want that crown. Young man, if God calls you to be a shepherd teacher, I want that crown for you. Yes, I do. You need to pray for the pastor of your church that God will help him to be a shepherd pastor, a shepherd teacher. As I said at the beginning of my message today, there are some in theological circles today who want to put the pastor in an office and lock him up. There are others who want to make him an errand boy. Both are terribly wrong. A balance of the two offices. is what God's word teaches us, isn't it? May God help us to have shepherd teachers in our churches. Pray for the shepherd teachers that you know. And may God help us each one to get involved in all of the ministries that we've discussed here this morning. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed, we bring this message to an end. I'm sure that there perhaps are some here this morning who would have to say, you know, Pastor Graves, I'm not sure that I've ever trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior. My friend, our entire message today has been directed to the church, to the believers, to give us a clear understanding of what the office of shepherd teacher is. But in just a moment now, I want to tell you that you can have salvation and forgiveness of your sins as a free gift from God. You see, God says that by grace there's a man saved through faith, and it's not of himself, it's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. I want you to know that all of your sins were paid for by God himself, who became a man in the person of Christ, and died on the cross 1,900 years ago for your sins. And if you will confess Christ as your Savior here this morning, He will save you, and He'll give you eternal life, and you'll walk out of this room a new creature in Christ Jesus. Say, Pastor, how can I get that gift? You get it by taking it, by receiving it. Here's what it says. In Romans 10, if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised you from the dead, you will be a Christian. While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, if you've never made that decision, I'm going to invite you to make it right where you sit, right now. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed, would you be willing to say, oh Lord, just say these words with me, quietly in your heart. Lord Jesus Christ, I know that I've sinned. I believe that you died on the cross for my sin. And right now, Lord, I trust in you for the salvation of my eternal soul. I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for saving me and for giving to me salvation. Friend, if you prayed that prayer, would you be willing to share it with me that you made that decision by slipping your hand up just where you are? I'll be so glad to know that you trusted Christ here this morning, that you prayed with us and became a new Christian. Anyone at all? Yes, God bless this one. Anyone else? Slip your hand up just where you are. Oh, Father, we thank you this morning for one who said yes, who trusted you as Savior. We pray, Lord, that the joy and the assurance of salvation would reach deep into their heart. We ask these things in our Savior's blessed name. Amen. This message has been brought to you by the Santa Rosa Bible Church. Our mission is to see the lost reached and believers transformed by Jesus. You can find out more information about us at our website at srbible.org. Or you can visit us in person at 4575 Badger Road in Santa Rosa, California. You can also reach us by phone at 707-538-2385.